Philosophy

Far Beyond the Surface

AKDO is a company literally built on love. So when we say our motto is “Far Beyond the Surface” we really mean it.

A family company, AKDO was founded 25 years ago as a way to create something that could keep two brothers vitally connected across a vast ocean and amid a sea of personal challenges. Our CEO, Hakki Akbulak was looking for a way that he could start a company with his brother, who was far away in Turkey and suffering from a life-threatening illness. Hakki, who is an ace at accounting and a born entrepreneur, asked himself, “What does Turkey have that America needs?” The answer: beautiful, abundant, natural stone. So they founded AKDO, and our ‘brother company’ Silkar, a joint enterprise that today comprises multiple quarries, factories, ateliers and a vast distribution network in the luxury tile and stone markets both here and around the world.

The process of working on this shared goal turned out to be very healing in every sense of the word. Today our founders enjoy having built an enthusiastic extended ‘family’ of AKDO employees, suppliers, dealers, consultants and customers who can all feel the love that’s been driving our brand since day one.

At a roundtable of AKDO executives from all areas of the business meeting to prepare for the firm’s flagship showroom opening in New York City, each was asked what the most important aspect of the business was to them. “Why,” they were asked, “do you come to AKDO every day and do what you do?” They each answered variously, (service, caring, quality, leadership etc.) but in each answer the core touchstone was people – the need to connect and do something valuable for people. So while what we do has to do with surfaces, and beautiful ones at that, why we do it goes deeper. It goes far beyond the surface.